How to talk to strangers at a bar about Covid

This essay was adapted from Jess Steier’s newsletter, “ Unbiased Science .”

For the last few weeks of summer, my mom visited from Florida. It was amazing, as it always is, to have her here spending time with the family doing lots of things and nothing at all. Going to the lake with the kids, playing board games, having hours of conversation, and taking endless trips down memory lane.

The night before her flight, we stopped at one of our local spots, a dive bar/restaurant where we can be super casual and enjoy greasy bar food over drinks.

At the table next to us was a group of four men, in their late 60s or thereabouts if I had to estimate. It was clear they’d been there a while, judging from the empty beer glasses scattered across the table (no judgment). They were talking at a high v